Leonard Cohen once called poker the ‘holy game’ and while it’s a bit difficult to substantiate a statement such as that there’s no doubt that it dominates home and casino card games. Games such as Texas Hold’em have become wildly popular online and offline in the past couple of decades and why not? They’re accessible, easy to learn and fortunes can be made.
This is our information page dedicated to poker which we call a poker wiki; each term, archaic or not, is briefly explained in alphabetical order so browse the list to get your fix of card gaming terminology.
Term | Description |
---|---|
Antes | A small bet placed by all players before the deal. |
Big Blind | A forced bet by the player two places to the left of the dealer, twice the size of the small blind. |
Bring-In | A mandatory bet placed in some Stud Poker games. |
Burn Cards | A card discarded before the flop, turn and river to avoid cheating. |
Buy-In | The cost to enter a poker game or tournament. |
Check | Passing on a bet if there is no requirement to call. |
Community Card Poker | A number of cards on the table are shared between all players. |
Draw Poker | Cards can be discarded and replaced to create a stronger hand. |
Face-up Cards | Cards visible to all players. |
Face-down Cards | Cards visible only to the player concerned. |
Flop | The first of three community card deals. |
Flush | A hand containing cards of the same suit. |
Fold | Discarding one's cards and leaving the hand. |
Four Of A Kind | A hand containing four cards of the same rank. |
Freeroll | A game played (usually) for a prize but with no buy-in. |
Full House | A hand containing three cards of one rank and two of another. |
High Card | A hand whose only strength is it's highest card. |
Hole Cards | The initial cards dealt to a player. |
Pair | Two cards of the same rank. |
Raise | To increase the bet level already set by a previous player. |
Royal Flush | A hand containing 10, J, Q, K and A of the same suit. It's the strongest hand according to standard poker rankings. |
River | The final community card deal. |
Showdown | The comparison of any hands remaining in the game. |
Small Blind | A forced bet by the player to the left of the dealer, half the size of the big blind. |
Straight | A hand containing five consecutive cards of any suit. |
Straight Flush | A hand containing five consecutive cards of the same suit. |
Stud Poker | Players receive face-up and face-down cards; there is no draw and no community cards. |
Three Of A Kind | Three cards of the same rank. |
Turn | The second community card deal. |
Two Pair | A hand containing two sets of pairs. |